


Bunk Buddies

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Thicker than Water [41]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 15:05:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2433152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I think it was the single most dumbest thing I've ever done.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bunk Buddies

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the **Thicker than Water** universe where the BAU are kids and teens.

“Jason?” she shook him. “Jason, Jason, wake up. Please wake up.” She shook him again.

Jason started to come around, not sure what was happening. It wasn’t often that he slept so soundly but he was definitely sleeping tonight. Except now he wasn’t sleeping. He was walking down that hazy hallway in his mind toward being awake. His eyes started focusing in the dark room. It only took a few moments to see the frantic face of nine year old Penelope Garcia.

“Penelope?” he sat up some. “Are you alright?”

“No, not really.” She shook her head and her blonde pigtail buns shook with it. “I'm scared.”

“What's the matter?”

“I'm afraid and I need to sleep in here. Can I please sleep in here?”

She was talking so fast that he struggled to keep up. There were times it was hard to keep up with Garcia when he was wide awake. Right now Jason was putting her words together like jagged puzzle pieces. It would take a moment and he held up his hand to indicate as much. A quick glance at the alarm clock showed it was nearly 2am. Penelope had been in bed since ten.

“Of course you can…”

He didn’t get the whole thing out before she and Mudgie jumped in with him. Normally that would've been the end of the story. Jason never minded sharing his bed and made the kids understand that they should never be ashamed about asking. But Penelope wasn’t scared of anything, other than thunderstorms, at least not that Jason was aware of. And often she just climbed in bed with JJ. If she was coming into his room then it was a big deal. She didn’t want JJ to know she was afraid of something.

“What's going on, Penelope?” he asked.

“I'm scared.” She cuddled with Mudgie.

“What are you scared of?”

“The Boogeyman.” She whispered.

“What?”

“The Boogeyman, OK?” Penelope said it louder. “Don’t tell anyone; it’s so embarrassing.”

“There is nothing to be embarrassed about.” Jason replied. “Everyone has fears, even the bravest people. If you fear nothing then you're reckless; stupid as a matter of fact.”

“But the Boogeyman isn’t real, Jason. I may only be nine but I know that. I'm scared anyway.”

“If you know that then why be scared?”

“Well…”

“You know you can tell me anything, right? I'm not going to judge you, laugh, or make you feel silly.”

“But you might punish me.” Penelope replied.

“Why would I do that?” Jason asked.

“Um cuz maybe, just maybe, I did something I wasn’t supposed to.”

“OK Penelope, I understand that. I’ll make you a deal. One time only, as long as no one else was hurt, you’re off the hook.” He thought that was a good move. Penelope was a pretty straight arrow kid, even if she was eccentric and ebullient. Jason was sure he wouldn’t regret the punishment pass.

“Me and JJ watched _Halloween_!” Penelope blurted it out, covering her mouth afterward. She looked over to see if she woke Spencer but he was sound asleep on the rollaway bed. He hadn't moved since she came into the room. “It was dumb, I know. It was maybe the single most dumbest thing ever. She said it was cool and I didn’t want to be a wuss.”

“Did you think it was cool?”

“I think it was the single most dumbest thing ever.” She repeated.

“Did JJ push you, Penelope?” he asked. “She's not gonna get into trouble, I just want to know.”

“Nuh uh, she would never do something like that. She and Will were hanging out and Kevin was ‘spose to come over but then he got in trouble with his mom cuz he didn’t clean his room. So JJ said it was OK for me to hang with them. She said they were gonna watch _Halloween_ and I could too. JJ said it was the coolest scary movie ever. I said yeah.”

“Its OK Penelope.” Jason put his hand on top of her head. “Nightmares are perfectly normal after scary movies. You can stay here tonight and should be fine tomorrow.”

“What if I'm not fine tomorrow?” she asked. “Can I stay in here then too?”

“Absolutely.” He nodded. “But you're a brave girl and you know the Boogeyman isn’t real. Eventually the knot in the pit of your stomach will remember too.”

“Thanks Jason.” She hugged him tight. “You're the best ever!”

“That’s what big brothers are for.” He kissed her forehead. “Get some sleep Penelope; nothing will hurt you while I'm here.”

Nodding, she turned over on her side, squeezed her teddy bear, and closed her eyes. Jason stayed up a little while longer just to make sure she was alright. Once he was sure that she was asleep, Jason closed his eyes and returned to his dreams. Luckily tomorrow was Sunday…being drowsy was OK.

***

  



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